Slowly and surely, every social situation is developing a digital doppleganger.

We can all recall the teenage awkwardness of being seen at the mall with your mom. It’s always a strange feeling when you get a Facebook friend request from someone from another generation. Many Generation Y users see social networks as a sandbox for their indiscretions — so how do they respond to a request from someone they know, but outside their immediate peer group? Many millennials are not pleased with how older folk are signing up for social networks.

Reading the comments from that article raises some interesting talking points. Facebook is such a fantastic tool for keeping in touch that it was inevitable for all age groups to join the fun. Who are we to prevent our aunts, bosses, teachers from getting on Facebook? They have lives, friends and pictures to share.

After all, it is their generation that built the internet, along with the iPod, cellphones…and every other digital thing we take for granted. Who are we to be ashamed to let them in? This is just another generational clash, but unlike anything we’ve seen before. Normally, when the soccer moms take on a trend, it dies a quick death (see: Macarena, along with the phrases “Bling Bling” and “You Go Girl”). But no one is predicting social networks to go away any time soon.